Inside the beauty pageant dream in Venezuela

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She comes from Venezuela, the world’s powerhouse for pageant queens. Alessandra Sironi was never a pageant contestant but she currently works as a model. We decided to talk with her about the beauty pageant world and the dream of being Miss Venezuela in her country.

Venezuela is the country with the biggest number of international beauty awards: 7 Miss Universe, 6 Miss World, 6 Miss International and 2 Miss Earth. Miss Venezuela is like a sport, you cannot be the second best if you want to win, you have to be the best and if you can’t keep up with it, then you might as well start thinking what your next career move will be, because there are many girls waiting to get that one spot like anacondas ready to mate.

Venezuelans see beauty queens as the perfect women. When you live in a country where a beautiful woman has greater career prospects than someone with a strong work ethic and first-class education, you are forced into the mindset that there is nothing more important than beauty.

Meet Alessandra Sironi

1/ Can you introduce yourself?

My name is Alessandra SironiI'm a 22 years old born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela.I currently live in Miami Florida.

I moved to the U.S 5 years ago looking for a better future. I came in with a student visa, and graduated from Nova Southeastern university with a Degree in Communications and Mass Media.

I started my US paperwork process with a marketing company based in Miami. This company is sponsoring my work visa and residence.

I actually did not decided to participate in a pageant. After graduating from college, I decided to go back on track on my modeling career. I began building my portfolio and I got contacted by the Tropic Beauty Model Search Team.

They encouraged me to participate and I decided to flight to Las Vegas in hopes of networking and meeting new models.It happened I placed first and I could not believe it.

When I came back with the crown my mother was very proud.I really did not expect winning.

Coming from a country where beauty pageants are corrupted; placing first with no strings attached, felt just awesome.I got to demonstrate the world that beauty prevails over money or contacts.

Tropic Beauty is a model search organization that find a state winner every year and make them compete against each other on the Finals. There are cash prizes for the top 5 and gifts and goodies for the rest.

There were 25 girls competing, we only modeled bikini category for this runway.

The beautiful Alessandra Sironi working as a model

2/ You're venezuelan, In a nation that calls itself the beauty-queen capital of the world (Under the direction of Osmel Sousa Venezuela has accumulated more international pageant titles than any other country). What do you think about the pressure of being a beauty queen ?

Most members of my family aren't happy with the road I decided to take in the beauty world. They have very wrong expectations about these kind contests due to beliefs from Venezuelan Beauty Pageants.

Venezuela is considered the beauty queen-capital of the world, yes.But it should not be consider as the greatest example of pageants.As in politics, there is a lot of corruption among these competitions as well.Everything runs on money and sex.

The most beautiful or the smarter never places.The unexpected one always wins (the one that can afford the most, the one that do it all for the crown)

Therefore, the pressure of being a beauty queen under Osmel Sousa direction, is actually to demonstrate intellectual characteristics.Most of the Venezuela Beauty Queens are stereotyped for being dumb and ignorant.Everything they have going on is beauty and surgeries, never books.

That's why I'm glad to be starting my career as a model in a country where you actually can demonstrated both aspect of true beauty from the inside out. (brain and body)

Everything sums up in the following quote from a NYPOST article (http://nypost.com/2015/01/25/inside-the-beauty-pageant-mills-of-venezuela/)

“I don’t believe Venezuela has the world’s most beautiful women, but we know how to produce beautiful, perfect women,” Velasquez told the Daily Mail. “That’s why we excel in all the international beauty competitions.”

3/ In a country that is struggling through a severe economic crisis, political strife, and rampant violence (a former Miss was brutally murdered in a random massacre last year), being a beauty queen can provide a woman, and her family, an entirely different life. Do you think it's true ?

I strongly believe Monica Spear was a true Beauty Queen (from the old days, where there were no corruption in the pageants)

She developed her career professionally not only as a model and beauty queen but as an actress also.Her career provided her a entire different lifestyle, but it was well deserved.

All her achievements made her who she was and I'm extremely sad for her loss.

Sadly in Venezuela, since Chavez won the presidency, there has been implemented a wave of envy against those who succeed and have high-life standards.Nowadays is so huge the hate coming from the lower classes that has been impossible to stop.

So many generations have to grow in order to change this kind of mediocre thinking.

4/ What is your favorite pageant or which pageant do you recommend others to compete in?

I submitted my portfolio in the MGM Las Vegas International Model Search 2015, and I got selected among 300 submissions.I'm competing this December against 50 other beautiful models.

I encourage other girls to submit their portfolio to this event, it would bring great exposure and networking to their careers.

5/ Several Miss Universe from Venezuela made important things, for example Gabriela Isler (with the United Nations, the pope) or Irene Saez ( former presidential candidate), Are they the best examples for you? Who's your favorite beauty queen ?

Actually Gabriela Isler is one of my favorite from Venezuela. She is a great role model to look up to.

She personally launched and is the CEO of Universe Blessings Fund.Organization that seeks to empower young women and raises awareness on adolescent pregnancy and maternal mortality.

6/ ) Is there something that belongs to the job you would rather not do?

When I started modeling again, I realized all the cons of this world.

Due to how our society is built, models get stereotyped as "girls who just care about beauty and have no brain whatsoever"and I hate that.

I would never accept any kind of indecent proposals to get fame. I rather get a normal job using my knowledge as a journalist and video editor.

7/ What do you think about all these pageant & contests where women (for most) try to be the best or most gorgeous women of a whole bunch of women competing themselves?

In my short experience, I believe most girls do it for the seek of recognition (as the most beautiful)

However, there are some girls who want to become great influencers in order to make changes in this damaged world (and they achieve it through winning this pageants).I consider myself one of this group.

My final destination is to become someone important and speak up for my country.Venezuela is a beautiful country who desperately needs people that can defend it.

I think Venezuelan Public Figures who live abroad care little about their country, and I would love to be that person missing.

8/ What is your opinion about pageants that are being held worldwide for kids (-18 year old) ? Do you support these kind of pageants or are you against them? Please explain

I personally don't agree with these pageants.I strongly believe kids and teenagers should be worrying about their studies.They should be expanding their knowledge in order to have better generations of beautiful and smart citizens.

The pageant world can be very beneficial, but also very dangerous due to its superficial aspects.

Or at least that's how my mom raised me; to worry about my brain first and then go and follow my dreams as a beauty queen.

9/ For you, what constitutes true beauty ?

As mentioned above, I believe true beauty is the capacity to change the world and stand up for the wrongdoing through your physical characteristics.

Being more than a pretty face.Having a pretty mind, a beautiful heart, and most importantly, a kind soul.

10/ What is success for you ?

The word success is a synonym of the word happiness.

Being successful doesn't mean having tons of money, but being the happiest you can be.

I would consider myself a successful person if I become a happy grandma who can look back at her life and smile for always doing and encouraging the right.

11/ What is the best thing that happened to you ?

There are two best things actually.

-Having the opportunity to move to the U.S. I consider a fortunate person because most of my Venezuelan Friends did not have that opportunity and they are struggling to achieve their dreams.

-Meeting the most beautiful, encouraging and supportive boyfriend: Andres Martinez Paz.He made me believe in myself again. I used to have a quite low self-esteem.It wasn't until I turned 21 and met him that I decided to go back on modeling again.